PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT - ENERGY BALANCE ASSESSMENT CORE The Energy Balance Assessment (EBA) Core has been an integral component of the University of Colorado NORC since 1997. The EBA Core provides support for the measurement of components of energy balance (e.g., energy expenditure and intake) and for the assessment of consequences of alterations in energy balance (e.g., body composition, substrate oxidation). The Overarching Aim of the EBAC is to provide expertise and support for obesity- and nutrition-related translational and transdisciplinary research for NORC investigators at CU-AMC and its affiliates. Services of the EBAC have been and will continue to be essential for many NORC investigators. Over the past 4 years (current award period), the EBA Core supported 168 research protocols (up from 110 at the last competing renewal) and 97 principal investigators (up from 67); 58 protocols were active at the time the competing renewal application was prepared. Of the 168 protocols that utilized EBA Core services, 100 were supported by NIH awards and 41 were supported by NIDDK awards. The consolidation of the instruments and techniques used by multiple investigators in the EBA Core enhances a) cost effectiveness, by reducing the need to duplicate expensive instrumentation and specialized staffing, b) safety for both staff and research participants, by overseeing the training required to safely operate instruments and conduct procedures, and c) data quality, by conducting regular maintenance and standardized calibration and quality assurance procedures. Specific Aims for the next period of award are to: 1) provide consultation on experimental design, procedures, and data interpretation for energy balance-related research, and access to and assistance with the use of state-of-the-art instrumentation and approaches for measuring various aspects of energy balance; 2) oversee the maintenance, calibration, quality assurance, and scheduling of instrumentation and the training of personnel who utilize the instrumentation; 3) leverage resources and coordinate activities with other institutional programs that provide services that support energy balance research, including the inpatient and outpatient Clinical and Translational Research Centers (CTRC), the Nutrition Core, and the Center for Comparative Medicine; and 4) expand services based on the needs of NORC investigators. Since 1997, the EBA Core has enhanced nutrition- and obesity-related research by overseeing the measurement of components of energy balance and body composition with a degree of accuracy and quality control that would have been difficult and more expensive for individual investigators to achieve on their own.